MANILA - A MAGNITUDE 6.3 earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said, but local officials said no damage or casualties were expected.

The quake was centred 99 miles (159 km) east south east of General Santos and had a depth of 47 miles, the USGS said.

The temblor originated under the sea and was unlikely to cause any damage, said Renato Solidum, director at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

MrSolidum said his agency had recorded a minimal intensity 2 in each of the cities of Davao and General Santos.

About 1,600 people were killed and billions of pesos worth of property and infrastructure destroyed when a 7.8 magnitude quake struck the northern part of the country's main Luzon island in July 1990, the last major earthquake in the country. -- REUTERS